Posts Tagged ‘holidays’
Learn about Groundhog Day!
Posted on: February 1, 2011
Please enjoy this article from of our Kids InfoBits online database. Click here for access to the database!
Groundhog Day
 The groundhog handler holds the groundhog in front of the crowd after the animal made his yearly weather prediction. |
Some people think a groundhog can tell how long winter will last. Groundhog Day is a holiday all about this animal and this belief.
A groundhog is a rodent. Rodents have big front teeth. They eat leaves, bark, and berries. Groundhogs live in a hole in the ground.
Groundhog Day is February 2. A story says the groundhog comes out of his hole on that day. He looks around. If he sees his shadow, he is scared and jumps back into his hole. This means there will be six more weeks of winter.
Sometimes the groundhog does not see his shadow. He does not jump back down his hole. This means spring will come soon.
The first Groundhog Day was in 1886. A newspaper reporter wrote an article about it. The article was in a newspaper in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Today, Punxsutawney still celebrates Groundhog Day.
Punxsutawney’s groundhog is named Phil. Every February 2, lots of people come to see Phil. They want to know if he will see his shadow. Groundhogs in other cities predict how much longer winter will last. The groundhogs are not always right. But it is fun to see them guess!
Many towns and schools celebrate Groundhog Day. People make paper groundhogs. They listen to stories and play nature games.
Source Citation: “Groundhog Day.” Kids InfoBits Presents: Holidays of the World. Thomson Gale, 2007. Reproduced in Kids InfoBits. Detroit: Gale, 2011. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/KidsInfoBits
Polar Express 2010!
Posted on: November 30, 2010
Celebrate the magic of the holidays with the West Palm Beach Public Library!
Friday, December 10 5:30pm
Kids hop on the Polar Express, play holiday games, and more!
Help fill Santa’s Sack with your donation of a new toy for a needy child!
Wear your pajamas just like the children on the Polar Express!
Sponsored by the West Palm Beach Library Foundation.FIRST NIGHT OF HANUKKAH
By Ruth RostonI shouldn’t tell you this, BUT
sometimes we fight! Why does Julie
get to light the shammash candle
every time?
Josh grabs the shield we painted
blue and white – he says he’s ALWAYS
Judah Maccabee because
he’s oldest. (We can be the brothers.)
NOT FAIR!
I’m the one who found the dreidles
for our game. I’m the one who knows
the names on all four sides –
NES GADOL HAYAH SHAM
Sunset now. December’s early
dark. No one remembers what we
quarreled about – or why. We love
each other in the shining light
of one brave candle.
Mother’s the one who looks around and says,
“A MIRACLE HAS HAPPENED HERE
TONIGHT.”
From Poems for Jewish Holidays. Selected by Myra Chon Livingston
For more books, crafts, music, and movies on Hanukkah, check out our catalog!
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Whether you prefer to celebrate the holiday in a goofy way, traditional way, or a little bit of both, enjoy these poems!
Happy Turkey Day!
November
*
Thanksgiving and
the Pigs rejoice-
so many pies!
And so much choice!
Peach and apple,
cherry, ample
mincemeat, pumpkin-
just a sample,
Peach and apple,
cherry, ample
mincemeat, pumpkin-
just a sample,
crumb or nibble
of each kind,
our gracious hostess
will not mind
in November.
~From Alligators and Others All Year Long: A Book of Months by Crescent Dragonwagon
Happy Thanksgiving!
November
The stripped and shapely
Maple grieves
The loss of her
Departed leaves.
of each kind,
our gracious hostess
will not mind
in November.
The ground is hard,
As hard as stone.
The year is old,
The birds are flown.
And yet the world,
Nevertheless,
Displays a certain
Loveliness-
The beauty of
The bone. Tall God
Must see our soulds
This way, and nod.
Give thanks: we do,
Each in his place
Around the table
During grace.
*
It’s Halloween
by Jack PrelutskyIt’s Halloween! It’s Halloween!
The moon is full and bright
And we shall see what can’t be seen
On any other night.
Skeletons and ghosts and ghouls,
Grinning goblins fighting duels,
Werewolves rising from their tombs,
Witches on their magic brooms.
In masks and gowns
We haunt the street
And knock on doors
For trick or treat.
Tonight we are
The king and queen,
For oh tonight
It’s Halloween!
Who was Roald Dahl?
Posted on: September 21, 2010
Roald Dahl
1916-1990
*
A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.
*
-
Born in Llandaff, Wales
-
Loved chocolate
-
Favorite color was yellow
-
Favorite school subject was anything but history
*
Read a brief biography on Roal Dahl on our Kids InfoBits Database!
For books about him, click here!
- In: 4th of July | blogs | child development | democracy | early literacy | educational | family_fun | holidays | Literacy | music | poems | read alouds | summer reading | Uncategorized | vacation | west palm beach | west palm beach public library
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Start the Week With Words – America!
4th of July weekend is coming up, so now is the time to brush up on our National Anthem. There were four verses written; see if you can memorize more than one!
SPACE
The Star–Spangled Banner
The Anthem was written by Frances Scott Key in 1814.
SPACE SPAC
Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thru the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream:
Tis the star-spangled banner: O, long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
O, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand,
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause. it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
E
To learn more about the National Anthem and the US Government, check out Ben’s Guide to the U.S. Government for Kids. Great for all ages!
http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/symbols/anthem.html
What does Memorial Day Mean to Me?
Posted on: May 28, 2010
For a lot of kids, the Memorial Day Holiday is a day of fun. School is closed and summer is coming; it’s a great opportunity to be outside and spend time with family. But it is also an important holiday in our country and can be a chance to teach children about the history and customs of the day.
- Memorial Day is a day to remember and honor the people who have died in wars.
- Memorial Day goes back to the Civil War, which was fought between 1861 and 1865. A group of women went to a cemetery and put flowers on the graves of all soldiers, from the North and the South, honoring their sacrifice, no matter which side for which they fought.
- Memorial Day is always the last Monday in May.
- The word memorial means a recognition or structure in honor of something a person or multiple people did. It is a lot like the word memory.
- Many people visit the graves of people who have died in a war and place flowers or flags at the site. Some people take this day to visit the graves of other loved ones who have died, whether or not they have fought in a war.
- After World War I, the red Poppy flower has been distributed in honor of veterans (people who have served in the military).
Although this holiday is celebrated with barbeques, trips to the beach, and other recreation, it is important to remember the history of the day and the men and women who have given their lives for our great country. A great place for kids to learn about the holiday and the history of our country is our World Book Database. And, of course, books!
SPACE
Kids can celebrate by creating their own Memorial Day Poppy:
What you need:
Red tissue paper
Scissors
Green pipe cleaner
What to do:
Cut 4 circles (about 3” in diameter) from the tissue paper.
Lay the circles on top of each other.
Push about 1” of the pipe cleaner up through the center and then down through the paper nearby the first hole. Twist the end around the stem.
Crumple the tissue a bit to give the flower some body.
This can be stuck through a button hole or given away.
Just in case you were wondering about some new DVD releases for children to view during the holidays, I found a list of top DVD releases for kids ages 6 & up.
For all the kids that are not in this range, be cool, you still might like them, and I will definitely have something for you next time.
The best part of this DVD list, is that KidSpace, @ the West Palm Beach Public Library, owns them all. So come check them out and don’t forget the matching books on your way out:
The Spiderwick Chronicles (I absolutely loved this movie…the goblins were the greatest)
Until we meet again,
~Remember, Reading is Awesome
KidSpace Blog 
